Good things to do for the week ahead

Published 5:25 pm, Thursday, December 13, 2012

119725 (BC-BPI-HOLIDAYTREND) Mention holiday movies and most folks thoughts probably drift to such sugar-plum pleasures as Jimmy Stewart in It s aWonderful Life, Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street, or even Jean Shepherd s wickedly funny 'A Christmas Story. If fall releases are typically serious films with Academy Award aspirations, then movies scheduled for November and (especially) December seemed gift-wrapped and designed for the whole family. But that may have changed forever last December, not with a bang or a whimper but with a Scream. CAPTION: (Clockwise) James Stewart, Donna Reed, Larry Simms, Carol Coones and Jimmy Hawkins in IT S A WONDERFUL LIFE, a story of a man, George Bailey (Stewart), who thinks he has failed in life and in a desperate moment on Christmas Eve, wants to give up living. BPI DIGITAL PHOTO REPUBLIC PICTURES

'Tis the season for "'Tis The Season." The players at Schenectady Civic Playhouse will offer an afternoon's worth of holiday fare, including staged readings of seasonal stories and essays by the likes of O. Henry and featuring Christmas characters such as Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. The good Playhouse folks will also sing a few Christmas carols and do their best to put you in the holiday spirit. And the best part: the event is free. 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Free. Schenectady Civic Playhouse, 12. S. Church St., Schenectady. 382-2081; http://www.civicplayers.org

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The Octavo Singers' annual concert of Handel's "Messiah" is a tradition for singers and audiences alike. This will be the second year that the performance is led by the Octavo's new director, Curtis Funk. As in the past, it will be a reading of all three sections of the mammoth work, Christmas, Passion and Easter. 3 p.m. today, Union College Memorial Chapel, Schenectady. $20. Call 254-7088.

Ifit weren't for librarian Peter Christoph, Gerrit Niver would be just another historical footnote. Christoph, former associate librarian and administrator of manuscripts and special collections for the State Library, took an interest in Niver, who grew up in Bethlehem and lost his life fighting with Gen. George Custer in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. In a lecture this week, Christoph will speak about Niver and what he learned using church records, state and federal censuses, Bethlehem church and town histories and National Park Service documents. 2 p.m. today. Free with museum admission. Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Ave., Albany. 463-4478; http://www.albanyinstitute.org

Caffe Lena can safely say that it's the only venue around that's hosting a "Candlemas-Hanukkah-Ramadan-Solstice-Christmas-Kwanzaa-New Year-Boxing Day-Epiphany Event" this week. It's Lena's annual holiday folk show, featuring local folkies Trish Miller and John Kirk, Addie Murray and Olin Boyle, and Linda Schrade and David Kiphuth. The trio of husband-and-wife folk duos will bring their own brands of humor and folk music to the shows. And there will be plenty of opportunity for fans to smile, laugh and sing along as the musicians make their joyful noise on fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, flute, concertina, horns and percussion. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $7.50-$15. Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs. 583-0022. http://www.caffelena.org

MOVIES

The classic holiday movie "A Christmas Story" was a dud when it hit theaters in 1983. Critics panned the heartwarming tale about the Yuletide craziness that swallowed 9-year-old Ralphie Parker and his family, but never dimmed Ralphie's desire for a Red Ryder air rifle under the tree on Christmas morning. The movie, humorist Jean Shepherd's celluloid memoir of 1940s life, found new life on cable television in the 1990s and gets more popular each year. It'll be back on the big screen for one showing this week at the Palace Theater. 7 p.m. Monday. $3-$5. Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany. 465-3335; http://www.palacealbany.com

It takes a bumbling angel named Clarence Odbody to show suicidal savings-and-loan owner George Bailey that the world is a better place with him than without him. And that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. It's all part of "It's a Wonderful Life," Frank Capra's 1946 Christmas classic. The film, which features "Our Gang" star Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer in a bit part (he's Mary's annoying high school dance date) will be shown on the big screen at Albany's Palace Theatre this week. 7 p.m. Friday. $3-$5. Palace Theatre (19 Clinton Ave., Albany). 465-3335; http://www.palacealbany.com